May 09 BMWMOCM Newsletter

Transcription

A Newsletter for the Members of the BMWMOCM
MAY 2009
Riding Matters
MOA Charter #49 RA Charter #26
Upcoming Events
May 2 @ 10 a.m - 3 p.m.
Hopkins Hitching Post
BMW Demo Rides!
May 14 @ 7:00 p.m.
Club Meeting
Broadway Pizza
2025 West River Rd.
Minneapolis, MN 55411
May 15 - 17
35th Great River Road Rally
Madison BMW Club
Veterans’ Park
Soldiers Grove, WI
Jim Herne’s odometer verification for the mileage contest
In This Issue
• President’s Message
• April Board Meeting Minutes
• Introduction to Wisconsin Back Roads
• Mileage Contest Sign-In Report
• Winter Term at Bump Gate University
• Report No 2 from Serbia by Jim Herne
www.madisonbmwclub.org/gr3.html
May 23
Intro to Wisconsin Back Roads
See notice in Newsletter for
information.
May 24
2009 Bonzai Road Rally
12 Hour Road Rally
Sponsored by Glacial Lakes MC
www.glmc.org/bonzai.html
May 29 - 31
BMWMOCM Hiawatha Rally
M-C Haven Campground
Money Creek, MN
www.bmwmocm.com/Rally.htm
PAGE 1
Club President:
Kevin Kocur
[email protected]
763-566-0243
2009 Board Members
Tim Cusick
[email protected]
MAY 2009
BMWMOA Ambassadors:
Charlie Coons
Karol Patzer
Jim Murphy
Vice President:
Nina Boonacker
[email protected]
[email protected]
PatCorrigan
[email protected]
Recorder:
Joel Howard
[email protected]
Jane "JJ" Norman
[email protected]
Treasurer:
Lewis Marshall
[email protected]
Past President:
Greg Anderson
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor:
James Weidenbach
[email protected]
952-829-0272
Webmeister:
Kevin Kocur
[email protected]
Sunshine Contact:
Marge Runnakko
[email protected]
Hiawatha Rally Chairs:
2009 Rally Chairs
Tim Cusick
Mileage Coordinator:
Jack Weidenbach
Membership Coordinator
Don Sidler
[email protected]
612-720-0231
Leaning
Towards
Joining?
Hey, we won’t countersteer you wrong! The BMW Motorcycle Owners Club of Minnesota is a great resource. In the past, we have sponsored Experienced Rider Courses and Track Days at reduced club rates.
Frequently, guest speakers at our monthly meetings present in depth information designed to make you a
better rider. Best of all are the friendly and knowledgeable people who make up the club. Join us at our
monthly meeting or contact one of the people listed above. Membership is only $20 a year! The
BMWMOCM Membership Coordinator is Don Sidler. He can be reached at 612-720-0231 or
[email protected]
PAGE 2
President’s Message
MAY 2009
Kevin Kocur
If you're reading this, the weather must be crappy outside--because it's been very nice lately and
many, if not most, of the BMWMOCM club members have dusted off their steeds and hit the
highway.
On April 11th, we had the start for the mileage contest. Many thanks go out to Jack Weidenbach,
Bill Jones, Doug Dokken, and Jim Weidenbach for volunteering. Couldn't make it but still want to
enter? Info is on the Mileage page of the website.
Speaking of volunteering, we can still use some volunteers for the Hiawatha Rally. Info is on the
Rally page.
I am also looking for some help with the club's website. For years now, we have needed a major
revamping of the site, and I promised Anderson two years ago that I would start on it. If you have
experience with PHP, please contact me. I'm not looking to step down as Webmeister, it's just that
I'm stretched too thin right now to give it the proper remake that it deserves. Hopefully a new
look, along with an updated message board, will be just the ticket to get more traffic on the website
If you've read the April issue of the newsletter, you probably found yourself laughing out loud a
few times. I know I did. Note to self: don't read the April issue while drinking a carbonated beverage. Those little bubbles really burn the inside of your nostrils.…
It's also likely that you read Jack's open letter to BMWMOCM club members. In it, Jack makes a
lot of good points as well as raising a lot of questions. All of these questions will be answered in a
separate letter from me. Some of the items brought up were things that the Board of Directors
(BoD) have already been in discussion about. A few other items were discussed at the April board
meeting.
And, while I'm on the subject, board meetings are never in a secret location nor do you need to
know the secret password/knock/handshake to gain access to them. They always have been, and always will be, open to all club members. Want to be heard? Show up. Can't make it that day? Email
us with your questions or concerns--ANY time. We welcome them.
The Hiawatha Rally is shaping up nicely. Vendors are being confirmed, pins and mugs ordered,
catering is in place and we have a contract with the band. You can make the rally even better by
helping to spread the word. Post info about the rally to any motorcycle forum that you're on, and
please link to the rally page. There are already posts on the MOA and RA forums, as well as ADV
Rider.
We are working on getting more guest speakers at the meetings. I myself will be giving a presentation, at the June meeting, on Motorcycling First Aid, as well as what to do if you encounter a
rider down.
New members:
Eugene Francois, Minneapolis
Charles & Martha Turner, Inver Grove Heights
Greg Burnes, Bloomington PAGE 3
MAY 2009
BMWMOCM – April 2009 Board Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Present: Kevin Kocur, Lewis Marshall, Pat Corrigan, Jim Murphy, Joel Howard, Nina Boonaker,
Jane Norman
The meeting was held at 7 p.m. on April 16 at Davanni's in Golden Valley.
Treasurer's Report
Lewis Marshall provided the Treasurer’s report:
Club account:
In the past month, we have written checks totaling $414.18, including $102.18 for 2008 mileage
contest plaques, $300 to sponsor the Lois Pryce presentation on April 28, and $12 for donuts at the
2009 mileage contest kickoff. The balance is $2975.82.
Rally account:
In the past month, we have written checks totaling $967.50, including liability insurance for the
rally. The balance is $2766.53.
Total balance for both accounts: $5742.35.
2009 Hiawatha Rally
We discussed the following topics:
• Good news on the volunteer front: Gary Peterson has volunteered to lead the GS ride on Saturday. Other members are organizing the field events for Saturday.
• Kevin will post the current volunteer schedule so people can check when they signed up and
new volunteers can see what tasks and time slots are still open.
• We talked about finding a 2010 rally chair to replace Jim Herne, who moved to Serbia. Jim was
going to work with Tim Cusick on the 2009 rally and then lead the 2010 rally. Please contact
Kevin if you are interested.
Other Business
We discussed Jack Weidenbach's letter that appeared in the April club newsletter:
• We appreciated the ideas and suggestions Jack provided.
• We talked about making the club more about riding. We should do more group rides, such as
the one Lewis Marshall led up to Siren, Wisconsin last October. We all agreed that this was a
great idea, now we need trip leaders to plan these rides. At upcoming meetings, we will put
out a call for volunteers to plan these day rides. If you know some great routes through Wisconsin or Minnesota, we'd love to follow you on your favorite ride! One option that was discussed was holding a few day rides on a Friday, when traffic is lighter than a summer weekend.
• We will compile a list of rallies, rides, and other resources and post it on the club web site. In
the summer, there are fun events on many weekends.
• Should we think about moving club meetings around for variety and to attract members that
live outside the Twin Cities metro area? We decided that if we do this, we need the plan the
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MAY 2009
schedule far in advance and publicize it so members know exactly what to expect for the
meeting schedule and venue.
• We discussed holding the winter month meetings on the weekends, which might make it easier for people to attend.
• We talked about whether we should strive to have a presentation to attract members to meetings. Do people come to the meetings more for the camaraderie with other club members or
do they want to learn something new from a presenter?
• Pat Corrigan volunteered to develop a questionnaire to survey members about what they want
out of the club and changes they would recommend.
We also discussed the following topics:
• We discussed the nice turnout at the 2009 mileage context kickoff on April 11. Thanks to Jack
Weidenbach for organizing the contest this year.
• We discussed ways to boost club membership, including contacting former members whose
membership has expired, to encourage them to renew.
• We discussed the need to update and improve the club web site. Kevin put out a call for volunteers with PHP web site experience that can help give the site a makeover. Once the new
site is up and running, Kevin would be willing to maintain the site on an ongoing basis. Kevin
mentioned that the Wisconsin and Arizona BMW club web sites are good examples of sites to
emulate.
• No one is planning a 2009 Minnesota historical tour. Instead, we plan to do the Dairy Queen
Tour Challenge -- to see which member can ride to the most Dairy Queens this summer.
Kevin will check with Dave Porter to set up rules for this event, such as requiring DQ receipts, gas receipts with odometer readings, or photos of the establishments (or maybe before
and after photos of the winner's waistline?).
• We will be adapting the club logo to conform to new rules from the BMWMOA and the
BMW company.
• Lewis Marshall is filling out the non-profit organization paperwork to file with the IRS.
Upcoming Meetings
Kevin said members have requested that the club offer more tech sessions this year. The board
thinks this is an excellent idea and we are looking into possible presenters and subjects. Kevin will
contact Midwest Cycle Supply and see if they can do tech sessions or presentations at a club meeting. Jane Norman planned to contact someone to do a presentation on using a GPS to plan rides. If
anyone is interested in leading a tech session, please contact Kevin. It was proposed that we do
these sessions on the weekends instead of on week nights.
At the May meeting, a representative of the Multiple Sclerosis charity ride will discuss club members participating in that event.
Kevin plans to do a presentation on first aid and accident scene coordination at the June meeting.
Also at the June meeting, a representative of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation Ride for Kids
will discuss club members participating in that event.
The August meeting will be the annual Afton picnic. Kevin will talk to the members that organize
the picnic to firm up the plans.
PAGE 5
MAY 2009
INTRODUCTION TO WISCONSIN BACK ROADS
by Jack Weidenbach
I have always loved riding relatively obscure back roads because they’re so much fun and
there are so many of them to explore. Southwest Wisconsin has the best concentration of
these roads in the upper Midwest, many of them within an easy day ride of the Twin Cities
area. Since this area provides some of the best motorcycle roads in the country, we should
all be familiar with and adept at riding them. Many of you are familiar with this area and
these roads, but I know that some people in the MOCM are not used to riding these roads
and would like a little help getting started.
I’ve decided to lead a ride on Saturday, May 23 that will serve as an introduction to riding
the Wisconsin back roads. The focus will be on how to find good roads and how to ride
them. I’m not looking for “just beginning” riders for this; you don’t have to be an “old
timer”, but you should be somewhat comfortable with curvy roads and be capable of handling normal road hazards and the dynamics of riding with a group. The pace will be geared
to the riders who sign on for this; we will ride at speeds that will be comfortable for all. My
brother, Jim, has agreed to help with this and he and I will have radio communication as we
ride, so nobody will be left behind.
So, here’s the deal. If you’re interested, let me know by phone or e-mail. I don’t want the
group to be larger than six riders, so if there is more interest than that, I’ll schedule another
session later. We’ll meet at a restaurant in Hastings for breakfast and ride info and then plan
on riding about 250 miles round trip. I’ll bring a laptop along so that we can talk a bit about
mapping programs and where to get good Wisconsin maps. I’ll also provide maps of the
route and the GPS route for those who want it. Please let me know of your interest ASAP,
we’ll go with the first six to sign on.
Contact Information:
Mobile Phone: 952.221.3549
E-mail: [email protected]
If you call, leave a message with your name and phone number. I’ll get back to you when
I’m off the bike.
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MAY 2009
2009 BMWMOCM and BMWMOA Mileage Contest Sign-In
by Jack Weidenbach
April 11 started cool, sunny, and windy and ended warm, sunny, and windy – a good day for the mileage contest sign-in that was held at Leo’s South. April 11 was also Leo’s annual Open House, so
there was a lot going on, inside and outside. Leo’s provided the sign-in crew (Bill Jones, Doug Dokken, Jim Weidenbach, and me) with a table and chairs to set up in the parking lot, which made our
job much easier. A big thank-you is due to Jerry, Randy, and all the staff for providing the venue and
for their assistance during the day.
Fifty eight club members signed up for the Minnesota club’s mileage contest as well as two people
who are not yet members. In addition, forty four club members turned in forms for the MOA contest and four non members entered the MOA contest. That’s a pretty good turnout for both events,
and I know that some of you sent your MOA forms directly to the MOA, so we have a good start.
Jim Herne signed up as our only European entrant, showing that there really are no good excuses
for not entering. I would really like to see everyone enter both contests so that we can make a good
showing in the state comparisons that the MOA prints as well as to develop more enthusiasm for
this activity locally.
Of course, we all have to turn in our finisher forms in October to complete this, but we’ll get to
that easy step later. For now, I want to remind you that it’s not too late to join your fellow members
in this endeavor. You can still send your BMWMOCM mileage forms to me. My address is on the
form, which is on the club’s website – and don’t worry about having a witness unless you think you
will be among the high mileage group. Remember, it isn’t about riding the most miles; rather, it’s
about keeping score of your personal accomplishments. It doesn’t matter if you ride three thousand
miles or thirty thousand miles as long as you have fun doing it.
You can still submit your BMWMOA mileage forms, too, just be sure to get it postmarked by May
11 and send it to the address on the MOA form. Don’t send the MOA forms to me because I have
already mailed the forms we collected to the MOA.
More Mileage….
It’s worth noting a few facts gleaned from the mileage contest starting data. The total starting
mileage for all the bikes entered by the 58 members who have signed up so far is 3,543,377 miles! I
wonder what it would be if everyone had signed up?
Charlie Coons owns the bike with the highest starting mileage, his 1993 R100R with 192,555 miles.
Sam Hallgren’s 2008 K1200GT has the lowest starting mileage, with only 135 gentle break-in miles
so far. As the owner of a 2007 K12GT, I can predict that Sam will find that the miles will go on easily and enjoyably over the course of the summer. It’s a great bike!
The average starting miles for the 86 bikes entered? That would be 41,202 miles! It looks like
BMW riders actually ride their bikes, eh?
PAGE 7
MAY 2009
Winter Term at Bump Gate University
by Doug Dokken
The winter doldrums of mid- February were slowly consuming me until a get-together for coffee
with Jack Weidenbach on one cold Wednesday morning. One thing led to another and we started
talking about riding in the Texas hill country. Jack and Jim Ford (of The Rider’s Workshop) had tentative plans in March of meeting up and riding the Texas hill country where Jim wanted to ride and
scout the roads for possible and future workshop classes.
Adding to the mix, Jack read about and sent for info and maps of The Texas Adventure Ride
(T.A.R.) that takes place in the hill country during April. It’s a four day gathering in Junction, Texas
of adventure/dual sport riders. Three of the days are spent dual sport riding the west Texas and
Texas hill country roads and terrain. A mutual decision was made over coffee to leave several days
early before Jim’s arrival and ride some of the T.A.R. on our own. Jack and I each ended up with a
copy of the T.A.R. guide and prior to leaving for Texas, I also downloaded from the T.A.R. website
the gpx files of the routes and loaded them in my GPS. There are 15 recommended rides consisting
of paved and unpaved roads. The unpaved roads were classified based on their level of difficulty:
Class 1 to 4.
We loaded our bikes’, Jack’s KLR 650 and my R100GSPD, onto Jack’s trailer and hitched it up to
my pickup. On an early March Saturday we headed down I35 to Texas. We spent the first night in
Chickasha, OK and early the next afternoon arrived at my brother-in-law Dave’s ranch near Hamilton, TX. We quickly off loaded the bikes and rode in 80 degree temperatures on the local roads for
about 70 miles, made a fuel stop in Hamilton and returned to the ranch for a steak dinner and overnight stay. On our arrival in Texas, the state was enduring a long drought. So, it was quite parched
and dusty. Little did we know that it would soon end.
Steaks cooking in the barbecue
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MAY 2009
Early Monday we loaded the bikes and headed for the hills. After a nice morning 150 mile ride
through rural Texas we arrived at our motel in Junction, Texas. One memory of the morning ride
was passing through Democrat, Texas, a blink and you will miss kind of town. Considering political
leanings in Texas, I found the name amusing. We off loaded gear from the bikes at the motel and
headed west out of Junction on our first hill country adventure ride.
Bikes loaded and ready at the ranch
Out of the 15 rides we chose ride #3, the Bump Gate University (B.G.U.) that first day. Since we
started the ride about midday, we rode only the first half, about 90 miles, that day. B.G.U. according to the guide is a “192 mile, class 2 trip that includes three of the best dual sport roads in the
Texas Hill Country – Old Junction Road, CR 350/353/Cedar Creek Rd, & Hackberry Rd- and a heck
of a lot of bump gates”.
What are bump gates you ask? They are gates you bump open with your vehicle and then pass
through. They then automatically swing shut after passing through. They are used instead of grated
cattle guards. They can be a challenge on a motorcycle. The technique I used was bumping the gate
PAGE 9
Jack’s KLR chu%ing through a bump gate
MAY 2009
Bump Gating with the PD
partially open with my front tire and then, depending on the direction the gate swung open, I
would push it the rest of the way open with one of my feet. I would then scurry through before the
gate could smack me in the rear. Both riders could make it through on one kick of the lighter gates,
but the heavy ones proved to be one bike at a time efforts. The first leg of the B.G.U. ride that day
on Old Junction Road was a learning experience. Dealing with the drought induced dusty roads and
all the bump and latched gates made the 90 miles go slow. Tired, we headed back to Junction, unwound and hit up a local eating place.
Day 2 in the hills started partly cloudy and cooler, a portent of the weather to come. After a quick
breakfast in the motel room, we headed south out of Junction on Hwy 377 to Rocksprings. From
there we rode south on Hwy 55 to White Mountain Road. The T.A.R. guide and GPS route versions
of White Mountain Road had us riding on a private ranch road. A ranch worker stopped us and directed us to a new road farther north that was supposed to be the right road. That new route of
White Mountain Road proved to be a challenging ride. There were a couple sections of the road
that had long stretches of deep fine powdery dirt and, of course, the attendant dust that went with
it.
After White Mountain Road and a stretch of CR 350, we hooked up with Cedar Creek Road east.
This ended up being the surprise of that day. The road twisted and turned as it followed the creek
through little canyons. Following a few miles of that, we rode around a blind turn and came across
the first of about a dozen river/creek crossings. Yahoo!!!! What dust I had on my boots and bike was
soon history. The crossings all consisted of river rock covered with about 10” of water. Several miles
later we connected CR 353 and CR 24 that followed the river flow and brought us into Barksdale,
TX. We then went south on Hwy 55 to Camp Wood, TX for a lunch break.
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MAY 2009
Cedar Creek Road
Jack washing off his boots
PAGE 11
Doug’s turn...
MAY 2009
PD parked on a river isle
Out of Camp Wood we rode Hwy 55 north to Barksdale and connected to RR335 north. From there
we turned on to Hackberry Road. Hackberry road is a Class 2 gravel road that crosses the Nueces
River in several spots as it winds north. The
crossings here are the cement apron type common throughout the hill country. You have to be
careful on this type of crossing, because in the
warmer weather the cement will be covered
with a slick coating of algae. Hackberry road
then connects to Hwy 41 west, Hwy 41 west to
Hwy 377 north and on into Junction. The evening of day 2 brought rain, a weather change and
a change in plans.
Lunch stop in Camp Wood at the Sisters Cafe
PAGE 12
MAY 2009
Hackberry Road crossing the Nueces River
Day three started out wet and drizzly and any notion of more adventure rides quickly disappeared.
The gravel roads would be too muddy and the risk of flash floods in the low areas dampened any
serious backcountry riding. The locals were happy that the rains finally came. Instead, we decided
to ride the hill country paved roads over to Kerrville, TX and join up with Jim Ford. Nature put the
kibosh on that too. Jim made it as far as Memphis, TN. The cold and inclement weather marooned
him there and he decided it was best to head back home.
Leaving Junction that morning, we headed south on Hwy 377 to Hwy 41 east. Hwy 41 connected to
US 83 south, onto Hwy 39 east and south on RR187 to Vanderpool, TX. At Vanderpool we rode
Hwy 337 west to Leakey, TX. Hwy 337 is a moderately challenging twisty hill country road. It is one
of the roads that make up the 3 Sisters: Hwys 335,336 and 337. They are considered to be 3 of the
best motorcycling roads in all of Texas. We stopped in Leakey at Mama Chole’s to lunch on some
TexMex and warm up. They make some great chalupas.
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MAY 2009
Mama Chole’s in Leakey
Leaving Leakey we headed north on US 83 to Hwy 39 east. Hwy 39 took us into Kerrville. On the
way to Kerrville we stopped at Hunt, TX to see the Texas version of Stonehenge. I guess it was interesting, but not worth getting off the bike to get a closer look. Plus, it was on private land. We
headed on into Kerrville to our motel and called it a day.
Day 4 we woke to a cloudy, cold and dry day. It was in the 40s outside, so we donned all our warm
riding gear and headed north to Fredericksburg, TX. Our destinations that day were Luckenbach,
TX, Lyndon Johnson’s Ranch and the Nimitz Pacific War Museum in Fredericksburg.
A short ride north on Hwy 16 got us into Fredericksburg. We rode east on US 290 to Hwy 1376 and
a quick hop south to Luckenbach. Luckenbach consists of an old post office/general store, a
wooden dance hall and some clapboard out-buildings. It’s a “tourist” destination for sure. I can see
hundreds of Harleys parked there on special weekends. We went into the old post office to warm
up by the wood stove and listen to a local sing and strum his guitar. He crooned a song about a guy
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MAY 2009
that “wouldn’t kiss the lips of the woman at night that chewed his ass all day”. Ahh, romanticizing
lyrics Texas style.
Jack in 'ont of the Luckenbach post office
Warmed up, we headed east on US 290 to the LBJ Ranch State Park. There we spent sometime in
the visitor center and then rode a road that looped the ranch by LBJ’s boyhood home and his Texas
White House.
We jumped back on US 290 and returned to Fredericksburg. There we toured the Nimitz Museum.
It’s a very comprehensive display of the Pacific theater in WWII. Admiral Nimitz was born and
raised in Fredericksburg. Presently there is a new wing and expansion being built that is named after former President George H.W. Bush, himself a veteran of the war in the Pacific. Fredericksburg
is a nice town that celebrates and promotes its German heritage. It reminds me of New Ulm here
in Minnesota. We headed back to Kerrville and our motel. That evening we had one fine meal at a
neighboring hotel’s restaurant.
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MAY 2009
Day 5 we woke up to more rain and temperatures in the upper 30s. What made it worse, was knowing that it was warmer back home. We decided to pack up and ride back the 50+ miles on I10 to
Junction. After a cold wet ride back, we crashed in the same motel in Junction and called it a day.
Day six dawned dry and cool. We decided to do the 3 Sisters and visit the Lonestar Motorcycle Museum near Vanderpool. The 3 Sisters is a moderately challenging ride. I would say the alphabet
roads in Western Wisconsin are just as good, more numerous and varied. The 3 Sisters can be just as
packed on weekends with bikers like the River Road is here. One big difference though……
DEER!!!! Add to that more critters like goats, wild turkeys and feral hogs. Scattered throughout the
hills are assorted exotic game hunting ranches. Most are surrounded by 8’ high fences, but exotic
deer still escape and populate the hill country. They look like small spotted fawns, travel in small
herds and scatter in panic as you drive by. Along with black and whitetail deer, they keep you alert
and litter the roadsides with their carcasses. As such, it creates a feast for the turkey buzzards as
they gather en masse to devour the road kill.
In 'ont of the museum with our exotic rides
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MAY 2009
We stopped at the Lone Star Motorcycle Museum in the morning and checked out the display of
old and exotic cycles. The collection of bikes was quite extensive considering the small size of the
place. There is a lunch counter inside too. The museum is only open on weekends.
Early 80s Krauser MKM 1000 BMW
Early 50s Vincent Black Night
Leaving the museum we rode south to Utopia, TX and followed the Rio Frio River along US 83
back to Leakey. We made another stop at Mama Chole’s for more TexMex. Leaving there, we polished off the rest of the 3 Sisters on our way back to Junction.
Day seven arrived with 50 degree temps and cloudy skies. A quick in house breakfast and we were
on the bikes heading to John Wayne’s Alamo just outside of Bracketville, TX. It’s an old movie set
were some John Wayne movies were filmed. Also, the made for tv Lonesome Dove series were
filmed there.
The ride down started out cold as the sun danced in and out of the departing rain clouds. Later
that day the sun finally broke through after 4 days of cool wet weather. We rode south out of Junction on Hwy 377 to Rocksprings, TX. West of there we turned south on Hwy 674. Hwy 674 was a
pleasant ride through the southwest corner of the hill country. It consisted of some mild twists and
turns as it carved through the hills before descending into a flat scrub brush basin that continues
on to the Mexican border with the Rio Grande River.
About 10 miles north of Bracketville we reach the entrance of the movie set off of Hwy 674. There
you’re greeted by an attendant in a clapboard shack that hands out the usual tourist brochures as he
requests an $11.95 entrance fee. GULP!!! “$11.95…..Hell”, I say to myself. I’m not that big of a John
Wayne fan. As I hand back the brochures, I tell the attendant that we have to make a stop in town
first. I put the PD in gear, make a u-turn around the entrance shack and head back out on the
highway to Bracketville. A quick pit stop is made in Bracketville and we head back up to the hills
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MAY 2009
on Hwy 334. Riding into Camp Wood, we stop for gas, chat with some Texas riders and chow down
at a local cafe. Leaving Camp Wood, we ride some of the 3 Sisters again and head back to Junction.
On day 8 we bid the hills goodbye, pack up and head for Dave’s ranch. It was sunny and the
weather heading for the 80s once more. We make a beeline first for Fredericksburg and set our
sights on the Willow City Loop northeast of there. The Loop is a narrow 2 lane that winds its way
through the hills outside of Fredericksburg. It impressed me as a long winding driveway for numerous rural private estates. A sign at the entrance says “No stopping or parking”. Huh??? The Loop’s
northern end connects with Hwy 16 north of Fredericksburg.
North of Fredericksburg on Hwy 16 is Llano, TX, home of Cooper’s Old Time Pit BBQ. Warning,
go there with an empty stomach!!! We heard good things about it from the Texans, so we made a
lunch stop there. The noon rush was kicking in and the place was packed. Outside is a sheltered
area filled with BBQ pits. You walk up to the one nearest the entrance and pick out the meat of
your choice. They place the meat on some meat wrapping paper, put it on a tray and send you inside. Inside is a long counter with “fixins” and side dishes. You hand your pile of protein to the person behind the counter, who then weighs it and charges accordingly. They hand you some more
meat wrapping paper, their version of a plate, and you head for a table to sit down and gorge yourself. The BBQ was excellent.
Wallowing out, we get on the bikes and head for the ranch. We arrive at the ranch early in the afternoon, unpack the bikes and load them on the trailer. Dave shows up later and informs us he has
beef brisket cooking in the BBQ for that evening. MORE MEAT!!??!! We gorge again later and relax the evening away in Dave’s man’s cave. That’s Texan for back porch. Thanks Dave for being a
fine host and letting us use your place for a staging area.
Up early the next morning, we get in the truck, bid Texas adieu and head north back home.
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MAY 2009
Report No 2 from Jim Herne
Belgrade, Serbia - 04/24/2009
I am coming up on six months in Serbia, and since my last report a lot has happened on the motorcycle
front. The K100RS that I bought in Austria was delivered to Serbia the day I left to return to the US for
our long planned vacation to Argentina and Peru, so I did not get to see it “in the flesh” until I returned
to Belgrade on February 15th. My friend Igor did send me some pictures while I was away, so I did
have a chance to get an idea of how it looked while I was away, and I also had a chance to order some
parts and goodies for it while I was in the US.
Based on the pictures I got it seemed like the bike
was in generally good shape (see picture at the right)
but there were some cosmetic issues that I wanted to
take care of before I got out on the road with the bike.
It appeared that the tie-down straps had rubbed
against the lower fairing vents and rubbed the paint
off. Also, the black paint on the fork lowers was
badly flaking off, and there was a large rust stain on
the transmission case under the battery tray. I was
prepared to spend much of my weekends working on
the bike when I got back, and that is what happened.
I had ordered a few things for the bike before I got back to the US, such as bar-backs, hyper-lites, and a
BMW rear rack, as I knew I wanted to put these things on the bike. After I got back to Belgrade and had
a chance to get into the bike, I found that there were a number of other items that I needed to order. Fortunately there was a staff member from the office in Washington
coming out to Belgrade in early March, and I placed an order with
Bob's BMW and had them delivered to the office so this person
could carry them out. These were very small parts, such as the rubber suspension pieces for the tool box, the RS badge for the fairing,
and the plastic cover for the fuses, so it was no problem to carry
them.
I took a close look at the bike I discovered that the rear brake
seemed to be dragging, and that the rear brake disk was badly worn.
If I put the bike on the center stand, and used the engine to get the
rear wheel spinning, if I pulled in the clutch the wheel would stop
within a quarter of a revolution no matter what speed I got it up to. I
could feel a pronounced ridge on the outside edge of the disk, so it
seemed to me that the disk itself was fairly badly worn. I put a caliper on it (picture at the left) and found that the thickness of the disk
PAGE 19
MAY 2009
was only slightly more than 3mm, which is less than the wear limit on the disks, which is 3.4mm. Igor
had advised me to buy the bike from the dealer in Austria because they would give me a one year warranty on the bike. In this case it paid off, as when I wrote to the dealer he agreed to send me a new disk
(about a $200 part), and a rebuild kit for the caliper. He also agreed to send a replacement screw for the
fairing deflector, and the cap for the choke lever, both of which were missing on the bike. I also asked
him to send me the two gaskets that seal the holes where the fork tubes pass through the fairing, but he
said that was normal wear and would not be covered by the warranty. So, I got the other parts at no
charge, and I agreed to pay 50 Euros for the fork gaskets, which is about the same price I would have
paid if I got them from Bob's.
Shortly after I got back I set myself up in the rear of one of the stalls in the garage in the basement of my
office, and had myself a good place to work on
the bike. Fortunately it was not too cold in the
garage, and I was comfortable working there
even if it was pretty cold outside. Belgrade had a
pretty hard winter this year, and just after I got
back in February there was a heavy snow fall, the
likes of which had not been seen in Belgrade for
years. At least the winter weather gave me time
to work on the bike and get it cleaned up the way
I wanted it to be before the riding season arrived.
The picture at the right shows me working on the
bike in the garage.
So from mid February to the end of March my bike was in various stages of dis-assembly in the garage
as I went through the process of cleaning up the bike and making the modifications and repairs that I
wanted to complete. As with any project like this, one encounters bumps along the way, and I had my
share. There are two that are the most noteworthy:
"I bought a can of spray paint to paint the fork legs, but when I sprayed them the new paint reacted badly with the old paint and it bubbled up. I eventually pulled the fork legs off and sent
them out to an auto paint shop to have them painted. They did a great job, and they look as good
as new now.
"I pulled off the rear wheel, and moved the rear brake caliper out of the way, but the bolts holding
the disk on were badly rusted in place. I could not get them to budge. I eventually took the bike
over the BMW motorcycle mechanic I found here, and he was able to replace the disk. He also
put on the bar-backs, as I did not want to fool around with brake fluid and bleeding the front
brake lines.
I pulled off the lower fairing pieces as well, because I had bought an emergency flasher switch for the
bike and I needed to pull the gas tank off to connect that up. I took advantage of the fact that the lower
fairing pieces were off and sent them out to the paint shop as well, and they did a great job on them too.
PAGE 20
MAY 2009
The shop filled in the worn places on the side panels, and I also sent the grill cowling out as well because that had some chips in the paint from stones and dirt. In the end I could not connect the emergency flasher because my K bike is an early model and the wiring harness does not have the connector
for the flasher switch. I was hoping my mechanic could hook it up, but he could not figure out where to
make the connections, so I have an emergency flasher switch on the switch panel, but
no working flashers.
When I had completed about as much as I
could, or wanted to, do on the bike, I drove it
over to the local BMW mechanic so he could
install the bar-backs, the rear disk, and generally check the bike over to make sure all was
in order. The picture at the right shows the
bike all back together and ready for the road.
I think the bike turned out pretty well and I
have been very happy with it so far. My colleagues at the office are pretty impressed as
well, and they think it looks like a new machine.
So, when I finished my repairs one of my colleagues at the office arranged for the license plate
for the bike. As I had mentioned in my previous
article, I have quasi-diplomatic status here so I
was able to get a “black” plate for my bike. This
means that I don’t have to pay tolls on the highway (I’ve got a letter that I show at the toll
booths, and then they let me pass without paying), and generally the police will not stop vehicles with black plates for speeding – pretty
handy! The office also got me a credit card for a
local gasoline company (OMV from Austria) and
the card lets me purchase fuel at a price that does
not include VAT. Since premium costs about
$1.25/liter, and the VAT is 18%, this saves me
about $0.20 on each liter of gasoline I purchase.
The weekend of April 4th I took off from the office in Belgrade (the picture at the right shows me ready
to hit the road for the first time) and headed south. I rode down to a small city called Ivanjica, which is
about 225km (135mi) from Belgrade. I had been down in that area before on business (in a car), so I
knew the road was good and there was some nice countryside down there. I took it easy on the way
down, getting the feel for the bike, and the ride took me about four hours in total. I had reserved a room
at the local Best Western (a former State hotel that has been spruced up and is now privately owned) and
PAGE 21
MAY 2009
it turned out to be a nice place to stay. The hotel was located on a local river, and behind the hotel there was a small
dam and hydroelectric plant that were built more than a century ago. The hydro plant is still used from time to time,
but it was not in operation when I was there. The town also
had a nice quite pedestrian zone, and I had a chance to go
out and have a nice cappuccino in the afternoon sun.
The following day I headed off for Belgrade, and decided to
try my luck with some new roads. I have a Zumo, and I had
bought the Serbia Garmin map, but it was not correctly
loaded into my GPS device so it was unusable. That meant that I had to rely on an old fashioned paper
map! I decided to head west, and to try and find a road that runs along the Drina River which separates
Bosnia from Serbia. I made a few false turns along the way, and I had to stop and ask some taxi drivers
for directions at one point, but I eventually did find the road I was looking for. I got to the road in the
early afternoon, and I was getting hungry, so when I saw a Kafana (this is a Serbian combination of a
café and a restaurant) with a few motorcycles
parked in front, I pulled in. I went over and
asked if I could join the bikers that were there,
and they welcomed me to their table. It turns
out that they were from Bosnia, and they were
heading up the same road I was going for, but
only one of them spoke a little English. As a
result our conversation was fairly limited, but it
was an enjoyable lunch none the less. These
guys looked like committed bikers, as they had
well worn riding gear and they were riding
pretty nice bikes. One of the fellows had a relatively new R1200GS, and the others had jap
bikes. The picture at the left shows them as
they are getting ready to mount up and head
out.
In the end the search turned out to be worth the effort. The
road condition was very good, and the scenery along the river
was very nice. There is not much in the way of “development” along this road, and much of the area is still farmland.
There are a number of weekend cottages dotted along the
river, but that did not take away from the enjoyment of the
ride. The picture at the right is taken just up stream from a
small dam in the river, where the river is quite wide. I had a
nice relaxing ride back to Belgrade, and I was surprised that I
did not see many motorcycles out on this road. While I have
PAGE 22
MAY 2009
the impression that there is a pretty good motorcycle population in Serbia, it seems that most of the riders are holding off until the weather gets better. In my opinion the weather could not be better than now,
as the days are still relatively cool and riding is a real pleasure. This is one road that I will most likely
go back to again, after I have covered all the other roads in Serbia! I have to say that I am quite happy
with this new bike, and even though I was worried about the driving posture with the lower bars standard on an RS, I have found that the riding stance is perhaps even more comfortable than that on my
standard K100.
The other excitement during the month of March was the Belgrade annual motorcycle show, known as
Motopassion. This is an annual event, but it has not
been running very long because it was advertised as the
4th annual show. None the less it was nice to be able to
get out and see the new bikes, and to see that there is a
fairly well developed motorcycle culture here. All of
the major motorcycle manufacturers have dealers here
– even BMW – which I was not aware of before the
show. The BMW dealer had a very nice display, and
most of the new models were there to be checked out.
The picture at the left shows the BMW display, which
had a prominent place at the show. The R, K and F series bikes were on display, and there was also a brochure available with the local prices for the bikes. The
table below at the right gives a comparison of the Serbia prices with the prices in the US. As you can
see the Serbian prices are quite a bit higher than the prices (between 20% and 36% higher), but this is
mainly due to the VAT tax that gets tacked onto
the price. Since I have an exemption from paying VAT tax here, if I wanted to buy a new
BMW here my cost would be what is shown in
the w/o VAT column. These prices are more
comparable to US prices, but the R1200RT,
which would be my preferred bike, is still nearly
10% more expensive than in the US. And, if I
purchased a bike here I would not be able to bring it back to the US because it does not meet the DOT
requirements for vehicles in the United States. I guess I’ll stick with my trusty old K100RS!
While it is nice to know that there is a BMW motorcycle dealer here, I don’t expect that I will be spending much time there. I expect that their prices for repair and service are fairly high, and it is unlikely
that they would want to work on a 25 year old machine in any case. I feel lucky that I found a “shade
tree mechanic” who can handle repairs that I don’t want to take on, and he is only located about two
miles from where I live. In fact, I’ve already got another “project” lined up for him. A few years ago I
bought a 1963 R27 as a project for myself, but never got the time or the motivation to get into the renovation of the bike. I am now putting it in with my sea freight (the shipping company did not want to
pack it up for me, but my company only refuses to ship cars, so they are packing it up) and it will be
PAGE 23
MAY 2009
here within another month or so. I am hoping that Vukar can handle the job fairly quickly, and I can
have an R27 on the road before the end of the summer. It will make a nice bike for around town riding,
which is not the case with the K bike.
Besides motorcycle dealers, there were a lot of suppliers of other motorcycle goodies at the show as
well. It seems that I will be able to get tires, riding gear,
and pretty much anything else that I might need here
without a problem. I bought myself a disk lock at the
show, so that is my first contribution to the motorcycle
economy here! I also found a club that specializes in the
restoration of older bikes, and they had about 10 or 12
bikes on display, including an R25 and an R26, and an
R100S. The owner of the R100S was at the stand when I
passed by, and I tried to have a conversation with him,
but we could not find a common language to use. I got a
picture of him with his bike (at right), and he seemed to
be quite proud of it – with good reason as it is a nice
looking bike. There also seems to be a Serbian BMW motorcycle club as well, but I don’t expect that I
will join because it will be too difficult with the language problem. Maybe I will run into some of them
on the road and we can at least chat from time to time.
So, that’s the latest from Belgrade. I am going to try and get out every weekend, and if possible I’d like
to make it a three day affair where I go to one of our field offices, or a project event, on Friday and then
I continue on with my explorations on Saturday and Sunday. I should be able to have another report,
describing some of the roads and rides here in Serbia ready for the June newsletter. In the meantime enjoy the riding and be sure to keep the rubber side down!
Jim Herne
Belgrade, Serbia
E-mail: [email protected]
Mobile: +381-63-372-353
PAGE 24
MAY 2009
AROUND THE AREA - STUFF TO DO
Rider’s Workshop
Jim Ford, founder of The Rider’s Workshop, made an appearance at the April 9 BMWMOCM
meeting at Leo’s South. He presented information about his Workshops and developing a smooth
riding style at our meeting. In the April, 2009 issue of Motorcycle Consumer News, Jim’s Rider’s
Workshop was noted as one of only two “excellent on road programs for experienced riders” available in the U.S.
Jim plans to conduct a series of upper Midwest Rider’s Workshops in early September, 2009. The
location will again be the Wisconsin Coulee country but the routes and roads will be new for this
year. That’s appropriate, since part of Jim’s interest is in encouraging people to find “new” roads
that are mainly used only by the local inhabitants. You can learn more about Jim and the Rider’s
Workshop at: http://ridersworkshop.com/contact.html
If you are interested in adding new dimensions to your enjoyment of motorcycling, the Rider’s
Workshop is a great place to start.
PAGE 25
MAY 2009
RETAIL SPONSORS
Moon Motor Sales Inc.
BMW / Honda
3613 Chelsea Road West
Monticello, MN 55362
763-295-2920
www.moonmotorsales.com
Judson Cycle Sales
211 Hwy 60 E.
Lake Crystal, MN 56055
507-726-2222
Located between the lakes
Leo’s South
BMW / Suzuki / Kawasaki / Aprilla/Moto-Guzzi
“We Sell Fun”
Cty Rd 46 & I-35
Lakeville, MN
952-435-5371
www.leossouth.com
Dick’s Porting
Flow porting, valve grinding, polishing, boring
16445 Valley Dr. NW
Anoka, MN 55304
763-427-7195
Everyone’s Journey
Gerbing’s Heated Clothing
Condor Motorcycle Products
Craig and Sarah Bennett
952-930-0399
www.everyonesjourney.com
[email protected]
Hitching Post Motorsports
BMW / Honda / Yamaha / Suzuki / Kawasaki
350 17th Ave N
Hopkins, MN 55343
952-933-9649
www.hponline.com/
Aerostich Riderwarehouse
Advanced Technology Riders Clothing
800-222-1984
www.aerostich.com
Midwest Cycle Supply
For all your needed accessories
4300 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN
612-825-9774
www.midwestcycle.com/
PAGE 26
MAY 2009
BMWMOCM was established in 1971 to provide an opportunity for BMW riders and enthusiasts to
ride together. It provided an “excuse” to gather and exchange ideas and share experiences. The
common interest is BMW motorcycles, and the club has grown to approximately 200 members. The
collection of motorcycles owned ranges from classic BMW’s to the latest in technology. Members own
and ride sidecar rigs, Airheads, Oilheads, and K’s of all colors and engine displacement. BMWMOCM
has organized and unorganized rides, spur of the moment and planned “meet to eats”, and members
enjoy the companionship of folks with similar interests.
PAGE 27

May 09 BMWMOCM Newsletter

Transcription

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